


Armitage Hux and the Case of the BloodWriting

by roseprice612



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blood and Gore, Hux is Not Nice, M/M, Original Character(s), Past Torture, Phasma Ships It, Snakes, but only a couple, but shes also a mom, just some fucked up shit, the Knights of Ren are a gang, the usual shitshow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-12 12:32:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13547394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseprice612/pseuds/roseprice612
Summary: Armitage Hux is an early-retired army man seeking solace in solving crimes. But when his next case involves the notorious Knights of Ren, he realizes he may have bit off more than he can chew…





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m planning on this to not be very long, but then again, I have chronic Overwriting syndrome. I guess we’ll have to see. 
> 
> Enjoy!

He really should've just listened to his father.

This case was different from the rest. It was actually dangerous, his life was threatened, and worst of all, it was one of the hardest he'd ever seen.

The murder was gruesome and in an abandoned warehouse. A man from a demolishing company had found the body and called the police right away. The detectives at the police department put his name on the list of potential suspects, as always when someone called in a murder, but Hux took one look at him and knew he wasn't the killer.

The body was still bleeding when they got there. The other detectives let him past, to see the carnage of what was left of the corpse. It was almost decapitated, hacked at in the chest, and legs torn off. All down the person's face was lines of blood, as if someone had smeared their fingers down it. Around the walls, written in blood, was a message.

"My DeaResT,  
I aM sorRy."

"Any ideas what it means?" One of the department detectives was beside Hux, sipping her coffee. He'd never bothered to learn her name.

"Looks to me like some crazy ex." Hux considered the corpse again and nodded. "Yes. Check the DNA of the blood on the wall separately from that on the corpse." And the detective nodded, so Hux kneeled by the body and studied the torn face. Male, it seemed. Some facial hair had stayed in tact. Black hair. Well-groomed nails, smooth and painted black, but chipped at the bottom. He'd been clawing at something. He paused. The shoulders of the cotton jacket were damp. He took out his phone and doubled checked the weather, scrolling back to when it'd rained last - last night, apparently. And judging from the clothes, and how the hair was dry, he'd had an umbrella.

"Have you scanned the building?" Hux stood and looked back to the female detective. "Have you found anything else?"

"What is it you're looking for?" She asked.

"An umbrella. Possibly a black one." He glanced back at the body and nodded to confirm himself.

"We've found nothing yet."

"Good. We have something to look for. If you were taking evidence from the scene of the crime, where'd you bring it?"

The detective seemed startled he'd talked to her directly instead of ordering her, but answered anyhow. "I'd probably throw it in the dumpster."

"Bingo." Hux smirked and brushed past her, hurtling himself down the stairs and rounding around the building to the back. A massive dumpster laid in wait, and inside poked an umbrella and a black backpack. Hux flung them out and scowled as he shook away the other garbage.

"That's it?" The female detective had followed him. "Are you sure?"

"His hair was dyed black, his nails were painted black, and there were streaks of eyeliner on his face. He's some sort of goth. This is it." He turned the umbrella upside down and saw who'd made it - a company called Under Cover. "There. A lead. You coming with? You've followed me this far..." But he didn't remember her name, so he gestured and trailed off.

"It's Phasma. And sure." She pocketed her notebook and went after him. Hux threw the evidence to another officer standing around and climbed into the front seat of his grey BMW. Phasma buckled in and made a noise of admiration. "I didn't know private detectives got paid so much."

Hux didn't want to say, "I don't, my family's rich," because it didn't sound like something he'd say. So he didn't say anything and kept driving.

Hux knew exactly where Under Cover was. An acquaintance from high school worked there, since he saw him complaining about work just about every other day on social media. He parked the apparently impressive BMW on the curb and went inside, not waiting for Phasma to hurry in after him. A bell dinged as he entered, and the man at the counter was, unfortunately, the boy from high school.

"Ah, hey Hux!" Greg greeted, as annoying as ever. "I didn't know you still lived here. I thought after the whole thing with your father you'd joined the army."

"I did. I got bored." Hux admitted, but that's all the small talk he rewarded him. "Do you remember a man, about 5'6, with black hair and painted nails come in here? Maybe he was wearing a navy coat."

Greg thought. "I could check the video records. Why do you need to know? Looking for a past lover to kill?"

Hux rolled his eyes and Phasma flipped open her badge. "It's for a case. If you wouldn't mind, sir." And Greg's eyes went huge, so he held open the gate to behind the counter and opened a door to the right. Inside was a small television and an awful lot of CDs.

"Check for the last two weeks." Hux said, leaning against the closed door in the small space. Greg sat at the chair and rifled a bit. "The umbrella was new. Black."

Together they watched through a sped up version of the last two weeks from 7:00 AM-9:00 PM every day. It was exhausting. Hux found some pleasure in making fun of some of the people in his head, mocking their admittedly interesting clothing.

"Stop." Hux said. "Stop the footage. Go back."

There he was. Scraggly black hair, shoulder-length, navy jacket and scruffy beard. Hux studied him closely on the monitor, and found a strange, graphic tattoo on his right wrist.

"Did you speak to him at all?" Hux looked to Greg, who stared at the man a bit longer and lit up.

"Yeah, I did. He had a really weird name, probably not his birth name, and told me about having to meet his friends after. He said they were having a conference of some kind." Greg stroked his chin and thought further, but there was nothing.

"Any idea what the friend's names were?" Phasma spoke up. She had seen the tattoo, too. "Would it happen to be Ren?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah, that sounds exactly right."

Hux felt a chill go down his spine. He leaned over to Phasma and whispered, "The Knights of Ren?"

She nodded and turned them away from Greg. "This case is no longer acceptable for just us. I have to report this to the chief. The Knights of Ren are too dangerous for just you or I."

"No." Now Hux was determined. "I have to solve this case. I've already gotten here, I can solve this quickly. I always do."

"Not this time." Phasma insisted. "It's more serious now. You could be killed. Easily."

Hux doubted that, and got angrier at her insistence. "I will not listen to the department. If you've seen any of my work you'd know this. You can either help me or leave me be. What'll it be?"

"Fuck. I'll help." She grumbled. "You'll get killed if I don't."

Hux nodded curtly and turned back to Greg. "Thank you, Greg. I'll... I won't see you around." Hux tried not to look rude as he walked out, Phasma and Greg going after him.

"Does this mean I helped in a police investigation?" Greg asked, letting them through the counter and shutting the door behind them.

Hux glared intensely. "We were never here."

Greg nodded hurriedly. They left.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick meeting.

Phasma asked in the car, "Where are we going?"

Hux didn't have an answer for her, at least not right away. He was thinking deeply about what he'd seen so far. The body, the umbrella, the backpack and the blood-writing on the wall. He knew what he had to do, but he really didn't want to. He turned the car wide on the next turn and headed northbound.

The sun was getting lower and lower in the sky. Phasma insisted they call off whatever Hux was planning and leave it for tomorrow, but he couldn't do that. At the most he could leave behind Phasma. She refused to go, though. She kept saying he'd get himself killed. Hux didn't argue that, even if he thought he could handle himself. The Knights of Ren were the biggest gang around, with the main members so elusive no one knew their names or who they were. There were six main members, Hux thought. Maybe five now. He'd worked cases around the Knights before, and it never turned out pretty - maybe this murder was a fight gone wrong.

They got to the graveyard at six PM. It was just outside the neighboring city, on the outskirts. Hux got out of the car without saying a word and Phasma followed, grumbling something about annoying redheads.

She was sitting at the bench in front of the usual grave, eyes dried and clutching a handkerchief. Hux sat next to her wordlessly, Phasma hanging back. They stared straight ahead for a long moment, saying nothing, until Hux had felt they had the pause needed.

"I need your help, Lainey." Hux avoided her sudden burning gaze on him. "I caught a new case. It involves the Knights."

The older woman took an angry deep breath, scowling, and turned her body to face Hux. "You're making a mistake." She hissed. "You need to stay away from them. Your father made the same mistake, and look where it got him."

"My father was reckless and headstrong." Hux argued. "He made sure I was neither of those things."

Lainey huffed and turned back to the grave. "You're still a fool." She whispered. Phasma shifted behind them. "I thought you were in Iraq."

Hux sat back. "I was. I got bored after five years."

"What rank?"

"I was well on my way to General." He thought. "Lieutenant Colonel."

"After five years? What the hell did you do? Why the hell did you leave?" Lainey scoffed and looked him over incredulously. "With a salary like that, I'd never give it up."

"I got bored." Hux wished he hadn't brought Phasma.

"So you came back here to face your demons, huh?" Hux wanted to retort back, but she cut him off. "You're a fool to come here. Go back to Iraq while you can."

Hux paused. "They're still after you?"

"Of course they are. I killed one of theirs." Her eyes turned dark. "Because they killed one of ours."

Hux held back an eye roll. "It's been five years. Anger dwindles with nothing to fuel it."

"But you're back. With a case. What is it?"

Finally. Hux called forth Phasma, and she sat on Hux's other side. "A Knight was killed, ma'am." She said. Lainey huffed in disbelief and didn't look up from the grave. "From what I heard, you can help us."

"You know who I am?" Lainey looked up then, meeting Phasma's gaze.

"Of course. The late Brendol Hux's partner." She managed a stiff smile. Hux sensed she was just as hardened and cold as he was. "You guys are a legend at the station. I'd be honored if you helped us."

"You know flattery won't work on me." Lainey frowned, but seeming in good humor.

"I would expect nothing less." Phasma got stern. Lainey breathed a laugh and broke her frown.

"Fine then. What is it you need to know?"

Hux broke in. "Where can we find the Knights?"

Lainey still didn't look like she wanted to say, but took a paper and pen and began to write. "This is the last place I saw a Knight. He may or may not still be there." She handed the paper, an old receipt, to Hux. "Be careful, Armitage. Truly."

Hux stood and nodded. "Thank you, Lainey."

Phasma stood and went after him, but Lainey wasn't done. "Go in the morning! By the time you get there it'll be dark, and that'd be a suicide mission!"

"I'll make sure he's alright!" Phasma shouted back, getting in the car after Hux and waving. Lainey turned back to the grave and went silent.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snakes. 
> 
> Sorry these chapters are so short. They’ll get longer.

The car ride was stressful. Phasma was clearly not a talker, but then again, neither was Hux. It was nearly silent the entire way there. Hux had a lot to think about, and he didn't want to share with Phasma. She'd likely take it the wrong way. Everything sounded incorrect when it left his mind.

He dropped Phasma off back at the station, both where her car was and where she said she needed to finish paperwork. Hux 'promised' he'd go right home - and then headed off to the location Lainey had given him.

Of course he wasn't going home. Why would he go home? He was so close to finally catching one of the Knights (or all of them), and he was not going to let that chance go. He had a gun on him, of course, but he'd still have to be careful. He wasn't going to charge in there like his dad and get shot. He parked his car in the lot near the home like a couple handfuls of others.

He snuck up to an old rickety house on the end of a retail district, clearly looking abandoned but still dangerous. Hux drew out his gun as soon as he passed a rusty "Beware of Dog" sign. The porch was run down enough that he almost fell through, and hurried through the front door. For half a second he regretted going there, then continued on.

It was pitch black outside, but strangely enough there were lights on through a thick mahogany door. Just vaguely Hux could see it. He silently twisted the doorknob, using his sleeve as to not leave any prints, and saw stairs descending down to a basement. There were noises, but not of a human. Small hissing noises, many things sliding about. Hux slid his phone out of his pocket and turned the flashlight on. It was still too dark.

He was met with hundreds of loose snakes. He jumped in his skin and went hurtling forward in fright and unbalance, landing on his hands and knees right around all the snakes. "Fuck!" He scrabbled backwards onto the stairs and tried escaping, but he angered a few snakes - one lunged and latched onto his ankle, and another on his arm. He grabbed his gun and, trembling in sudden pain, shot the head off the one on his arm and went further up the stairs. He could feel something hot and burning in his veins, his mind clouding, and realized with one of his last aware thoughts that the snakes were probably poisonous. He kicked his leg to try and get it off his ankle, crawling up the stairs at the same time, but it held on tight, sinking its fangs further into his flesh.

He made a run for it out the door. The stairs were the biggest issue, so once he'd made it past those, he stumbled out the door and down the cracked porch. The snake was still holding on. Hux shot it off and tore out the head still stuck in his leg. There was something green dripping from its front teeth. "Fuck," He cursed, and everything went blurry. He had to get out of here. He had to get to his car.

The lot was further than he thought. He could barely walk with his mind slipping away and his muscles not responding. He was barely aware that he dropped his phone, and tried going as fast as he could to get to his car. He could see it, the grey reflecting dull under the singing parking lot light. There was another car there, a slim black one, and a man standing in front of it. And then he saw something much stranger than a basement full of snakes.

The black car pulled into the lot, parking and stopping. Hux wasn't that close, but he could see and hear inside the car.

"I told you, I need to go." That was Hux's voice. He was in the car. "I can't stay here."

There was another black haired man beside him with a large nose and a couple beauty marks. "I know. Wishful thinking on my part."

Hux - the Hux in the car - got out and shifted his green sweater. The other man got out with him, taking him by the shoulders and hugging him. Other Hux pulled away to take the man into a kiss, who quickly reciprocated it.

"I'm sorry." Was what other Hux said, stepping away. "I can't. Goodbye, Kylo." And other Hux faded off, leaving the man - Kylo, standing there. Hux stumbled and held his weight against the back of a Suburban. The poison was back, the snakebites were back. What the hell had he just seen?

"Hello?" It was the same voice of the man in the vision. Hux fumbled his keys out of his pocket and clicked the fob to unlock his car. He was so close, so close-

He tripped and fell flat on the pavement. The keys slid out of his hand. He was panting. He couldn't breathe. Just barely he managed to crawl forward, grunting with pain and feeling as if he'd throw up. That black haired man was in front of him. With blurry and foggy vision, he saw the man crouch down beside him and grab his arm, the one with the snakebite.

"Fuck." The man cursed, sounding distorted, and picked up Hux entirely in his arms. Hux involuntarily groaned loudly and painfully. The man walked to the sleek black car and laid him in the passenger's seat, slipping Hux's gun and keys into his pocket and getting into the driver's side.

"Who're ooh?" Hux rolled his head as he car started off, and he blacked out for a second. He was going to die. He could feel it. He could feel the life draining out of him.

"I didn't mean for this to happen." The man took a sharp turn and headed down the road much quicker than he probably should've. Either that or Hux was hallucinating again. "I'm sorry. I won't let you die. Fuck."

That was the last thing Hux heard. His eyes rolled back into his head and everything went black.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snakebites hurt. 
> 
> Trigger warning for this chapter and the next few for those with emetaphobia.

For hours all he felt was agony. The worst pain he'd ever felt. It wound through him like the snakes around his ankles, entrapping him and leaving him helpless. He tossed and turned in a bed that didn't belong to him and screamed for help, for the pain to end. The end came much later, in the form of a needle and an antidote.

When he really woke, the sun was shining and his bones ached. His head pounded as he sat up. Light streamed in through the window and grabbed at every possible surface, drowning Hux in sudden brightness. He averted his eyes from the large, tall windows and rolled over, finding quite a large man leaning against a chair beside the bed, asleep. Then Hux connected the dots and remembered what happened.

His arm and ankle had a big bandaids on it, so he couldn't see the wound, but he didn't feel the debilitating effects of the poison any longer. He brushed his hair off his forehead and turned back to the man, who he only remembered a bit. He inched to the side of the bed and put his feet on the floor to stand.

The man's eyes opened with the movement and creaking bed. He took one look at Hux and lunged forward, forcing him to lay back again.

"You have to stay put." His voice was deep. "The effects of poison are still in you."

The man knew about the poison. "You- you know. Did that house-" Hux coughed and spat a ruddy liquid into his hand. "What the fuck?"

"Here." The man handed him a towel from the bedside table and Hux wiped himself clean. "You're body is rejecting the antidote. This isn't good. Stay here."

Hux sat up to stop him from leaving, ask what the fuck was going on, but he was gone. So he laid back and tried keeping his breathing even. Phasma would kill him, as long as this poison didn't first. What was he thinking? He almost died, he could've died. He reached for his phone to see if Phasma had called him (they'd exchanged numbers before she left), but found his phone not in his pockets and not on the bedside table.

The man returned with another, shorter man with hair shaved down to a close crop. Sure enough, he donned a leather jacket with chains and eyeliner as well. Another Knight.

"What're you-?" Hux tried scrabbling away from them, but his arm throbbed and he cried out. "Fuck."

"Let me help." The new short Knight grabbed him forcefully and peeled away the bandaid, making Hux grunt. "Hm. You're rejecting the antidote. Why did Pella have to put all those snakes there?"

"She's neurotic." The first man rolled his eyes and took a seat as the short man studied the wound. Hux tried to pretend he was somewhere else, somewhere where everything made sense, but he was forced to come back when the short man stuck a needle into his arm.

"Fuck!" He hissed as whatever he'd jabbed him with burned. "Fuck, it hurts."

"That's a good sign." The short man stepped back and nodded to the first man. "Keep an eye on him."

The short man left, and Hux turned to the first Knight again. "Who the fuck are you? Why did you bring me here? Where is here?" He leaned forward towards the chair, causing the man to raise his hands in surrender and lean back.

"Sorry for trying to save your life." He grumbled. "My name's Kylo, I'm the leader of the Knights of Ren. Do you remember me from the parking lot? I thought you were drunk 'cause you stumbling, but then you fell flat on your face and I saw your arm bleeding and your eyes and I knew you'd met Pella's snakes. Sorry 'bout that."

Sated a bit with the explanation, Hux sat back. "Right." He vaguely remember the night before. "Where's my phone?"

"You didn't have one with you." Kylo tipped his head. "Who you need to call?"

"My- she's not really my partner." He tried to find a way to describe Phasma. "I was working on the case with her."

"The case?" Kylo shifted in his chair, and then something dawned on him. "Oh. You found Ajaccio." His expression dropped. "We're trying to figure out what happened too. He was a good man. I'll tear apart whoever killed him."

"You don't know who killed him?" Hux asked, surprised. He'd assumed it was gang violence from within, but this changed everything. If it was another gang... A war could start.

Kylo shook his head. "But you could help us. You're as good a detective as your father, if not better."

"You knew my father?" This caught Hux's attention, then he realized what he meant and spoke with a tone he didn't really ever use before. He never knew how to handle his father's death. "That's right. You shot him."

"We didn't shoot him. He was a good man." Kylo lowered his head respectfully and stared darkly through his long eyelashes.

"He wasn't." Hux shot back immediately. "A good detective, maybe. But he was a terrible person. And that doesn't answer my question."

"Christ, you're fiery." Kylo raised his eyebrows. Hux stared. Kylo rolled his eyes. "He wanted to ally with us. His department didn't like that. They shot him and framed us - I forgot who it was they blamed specifically - to get rid of the evidence. Everyone bought it, I guess. Even his own son."

Hux didn't know how to respond. He probably should've kept going on his questioning, but he was put off by the "Even his son" comment. Of course Hux believed it. There were three eyewitnesses. Then again... those eyewitnesses were policemen. They could've been in on it. On the other end, Kylo could be lying completely. He was a Knight himself - the leader, in fact - and whatever he said was skewed by his position. So Hux shut up and sat back, trying not to think about his dick of a father.

"Do you need to use a phone?" Kylo offered, still leaning forward. Hux held back an eye roll.

"When can I leave?" He sat up in the bed, suddenly uncomfortable. He didn't know where he was.

"You can't." Kylo got very serious. "Not for a day or two."

Hux's blood ran cold. "Am I a captive? Some sort of prisoner of war?" And his thoughts drifted to Iraq, where he'd actually been a prisoner for some time. It was... traumatizing.

"No." Kylo shook his head. "You're free to leave any time. But we have the antidote for the poison still running in your veins, and you can't get it out there. You don't know what type of snake bit you. And before you say it, you can't go to a hospital. What'd you tell them? I was sneaking into what I thought was the home of a Knight of Ren and got bitten by one of the snakes in the snake pit in their basement? That'd make the Top Ten Easiest Ways to Alert the Police."

He was right. Hux sat back and shut his eyes. At least he had a bed and warmth. Back in that stone prison in Iraq, he'd had no protection. Just the clothes on his back and whatever knowledge he had to break out.

Nausea came on suddenly and severely. He gagged and sat up, and Kylo slid a bucket under him as he vomited. He heaved breaths for a minute and spit into the bucket. What the hell was that? He vomited once more and rounded over in discomfort.

"You're body's getting rid of the poison." Kylo explained. "That's good. The antidote's working."

"Am I going to have to do that a lot?" Hux rasped, spitting one more time and sitting back. Kylo took the bucket away and placed it beside the bed in case he needed it.

"Probably not. Maybe one or two more times." Kylo breathed. "So, you hungry?"

Hux scowled and looked up.

"You just threw up everything in your stomach. Besides, it might do you some good to get up and get some fresh air." And to prove his point he tore the blankets away from Hux's body. He whined and curled his knees into his chest. "Come on. I insist."

Hux took his hand and scooted to the side of the bed with a frown on his face. "What, are we going to go get coffee or something? Do Knights of Ren eat out? Aren't you- fuck, ow." He landed on the ankle that'd been bitten and keeled over. Kylo grabbed him before he could fall and held him up. "This is a bad idea. I can't walk."

Kylo set him in the chair and went off to the closet, pulling out crutches and turning back to Hux. "Here." He offered. Hux didn't have much of a choice but to scowl and position himself on the crutches.

"This is ridiculous." Hux grumbled. "I shouldn't be up."

"Yeah, well, uh-" Kylo chuckled. "I kind of don't have any food here right now, so we have to go out and get stuff."

"What about the other man that was here? The short one that stuck me with a needle?"

Kylo had to think for a second. "Oh. You mean Ionia. No, he's our medic. He isn't paid enough to go out and get us stuff. Now stop complaining, c'mon."


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch and contemplations. 
> 
> This chapter is finally longer. Continued trigger warning for emetophobes. Descriptions of violence and mentioned PTSD.

Hux followed Kylo out to his car, the same sleek black one he'd seen (albeit blurry) the night before. He could get a better look at it this time. It wasn't really black, but carbon-fiber all around. That new Nissan GTR, a car that didn't look as impressive as a Ferrari but could easily pass one in a drag race. Hux didn't complain anymore as he got into the passenger's seat and set the crutches across his lap.

"Where are we going?" Hux asked, suddenly nervous about where he was being brought.

"Supermarket." Kylo made a sharp turn and Hux's stomach lurched. He hoped he wouldn't throw up suddenly again. Kylo saw the look on his face. "Don't worry. You can wait in the car if you want."

"No." Hux hated feeling helpless. Kylo shrugged and drove faster.

This car ride was far from silent, as it was with Hux and Phasma. Kylo couldn't stop talking, but about what Hux lost track. First it was sports or something, and after that Hux stopped listening. He didn't care about anything he went on with, and he also didn't want to waste the energy trying to follow along. So he let his mind so completely blank, reveling in the exhaustion that took over him. It wasn't often he had such a viable excuse to relax.

They were apparently almost there when Hux felt the nausea come back. "Pull over." He squeaked, cutting off Kylo's mid-sentence. Kylo glanced over and frowned, quickly pulling over the car. They barely made it. Hux wretched out the side of the car on the shoulder of the highway and sat there for a second, huffing and breathing a bit shakily. It felt as though his insides were tearing each other apart. Eventually he was able to sit back in the car and close the passenger side door, squeezing his eyes shut and staying as still as possible as to not strain himself. Kylo started off after a few seconds.

"I'm sorry." Kylo sounded serious and sincere, his low voice slow. Hux peeked one eye open to look at him. "I promised your father, before he died, that'd I keep you safe if need be. But here I am. It's my fault. Well, and Pella's. I'll have to have a real talk with her..."

"My father asked you to protect me? Why?" Hux furrowed his brow and stared. It made no sense.

"He said you needed to continue his work."

Of course that was it. Hux huffed and closed his eyes again. "You've done a shit job of protecting me anyway."

"Why do you say that?" Kylo prodded. "You keep trying to ask if we're keeping you prisoner or why we're protecting you. What's your problem?" But then Hux didn't answer, because he didn't know how, so Kylo kept going. "Do you have some sort of PTSD? Why the fuck are you-"

"Yes." Hux blurted, unable to stop himself. Now that he was talking, he couldn't stop. "Yes, I do have PTSD, and no, I don't understand why the fuck you liked my father so much. He was an abusive asshole. He never loved me, he never liked me, and he never touched me except when he saw it fit to smack me around. He told me I was worthless for my entire life until he got shot and killed and I went off to Iraq to avoid the shitshow that had become my life."

Kylo didn't respond for a while. It seemed he didn't know how. Hux was okay with that, but then he did speak, and he wished he hadn't. "I'm sorry. I didn't know he was terrible to you. What happened in Iraq?"

That was quite a change in topic. Hux scoffed, a bit overwhelmed. "Are you kidding me? You want to ask a question like that? A lot happened, that's all you need to know."

That shut Kylo up. They fell into silence and the car pulled into the supermarket. Hux tried not to meet his gaze and avoided looking at him as they parked, and got out on his own on the crutches. The pain was still there, and the nausea was still there, but he ignored it for the most part. He followed Kylo in, they grabbed a cart, and then wove through the isles.

"I'm feeling, like, fried chicken or something." Kylo said, glancing back at Hux struggling along behind him. He was back to his normal annoying self, Hux realized. "What 'bout you?"

Hux was disgusted by the idea of having to eat fried chicken. "What about something less nasty?"

"Okay, sorry." Kylo rolled his eyes and turned round another isle. "Pasta? That's kinda easy."

Hux shrugged. "Sure."

Kylo grabbed about five boxes of assorted pasta and moved on. Hux felt another wave of nausea but swallowed it. "What do you like in your pasta? I like to make a sort of puttanesca."

Hux crinkled his nose and shook his head. "Tomato sauce for me. If you insist you can get a spicier sauce."

"No alfredo?" Kylo passed by the creamy jars and gestured.

"My God, what kind of puttanesca do you make?" Hux scowled and moved hurriedly past the alfredo sauce to the tomato. "That's disgusting. Here," With one hand, while balancing, he grabbed a jar of tomato sauce and handed it to Kylo. He placed it in the cart without looking, then grabbed a big jar of alfredo and rolled on past Hux, standing on the back of the cart like a child. Hux took a deep breath to even his patience and followed.

"You like olives?" Kylo asked, already grabbing a container of olives.

"Yes, actually." Hux nodded. "That's the only good food you've mentioned."

"Capers?"

"Make that two."

There weren't many more things to get. Hux followed Kylo around like a loyal dog at his heels, since he also couldn't keep up, and he hated it. He just wanted to go home - call Phasma, take a shower, and not have to put up with Kylo and his annoying antics. The man had to be just a few years younger than him, and he acted like some hyperactive kid. But he was right. He couldn't really leave. What if this antidote didn't work either? He'd be screwed.

"Lieutenant Colonel?"

Hux whipped around and found none other than Mitaka, a man he'd worked very closely with in Iraq. Kylo stopped to observe. "Ah, Captain. What brings you here?"

"I should ask you the same." Mitaka smiled, stepped forward almost jovially. "I'm visiting my niece right now, but I go back to the base in eleven days. It's good to see you! After that last mission, no one really knew where you went. I see now that you've dropped out entirely. How is civilian life treating you?"

Mitaka was a breath of familiar air. Hux managed a tight lipped smile. "Truthfully, badly. I get on much better at the base."

"Is it because of the injuries?" He gestured to the crutches.

"Ah, no. This was recent - a car crash just a few days ago." Hux lied, waving his hand. He was a convincing liar, if anything, and Mitaka nodded sympathetically. "I left for other reasons. How are you doing? The men at the base?"

The change in subject worked. "I'm alright. Just moving along, as always." Mitaka shrugged. He seemed to notice Kylo behind them but didn't say anything. "The men are as raucous as ever. The General is beginning to get fed up with them, if you'd believe it."

"I'd believe it." Hux could picture them - staying up all night, playing pranks on the senior officers, sending dumb messages in Morse code to each other. But suddenly he was all to aware of Kylo's presence too. "I should be going, though..."

"Of course." Mitaka smiled cheekily. "I'll leave you be. Good to see you, Lieutenant Colonel."

"Captain." Hux nodded, and Mitaka departed down an isle towards the meat. Kylo looked smug for half a second before he turned and got in line. Hux followed. "What?" He prodded. "What is that look for?"

"I didn't know you had friends." Kylo huffed, his voice low. He was trying not to laugh.

"He isn't my friend." Hux responded sternly, his face crinkled in a scowl. "He's an army man. We were stationed at the few base. We're workmates, that's all."

"He thought we were dating or something."

Was that what that was? Hux shook his head. "It is a weird thing to go to the supermarket for food with- someone like you."

Kylo laughed and lowered his voice further. "You're gay, then? You didn't violently refuse it."

Hux sent a glare his way. "My sexuality is none of your business."

"Fine." Kylo huffed and turned away, loading the food onto the counter. He ignored Hux as the worker scanned the items and bagged them. He paid and started out without a word, Hux having to speed after him on crutches. Kylo still didn't say anything while unloading the bags into the car, getting in the driver's seat and starting off before Hux was barely in his seat.

"Are you actually this childish?" Hux couldn't take it any longer and turned to Kylo, who stared straight ahead. "I didn't answer your question so you ignore me?"

Kylo shrugged. "You clearly don't want to talk, so we don't have to talk."

Hux was more uncomfortable with that. He liked Kylo's constant chatter much better than silence. It was eerie. "That's stupid. I'd just rather listen. Something wrong with that?"

"Mm." Kylo considered this. "Could be. You're just kind of pissy. You're already a grumpy old man at like, thirty. How old are you?"

"Thirty four." He corrected. "Maybe I'm just not a people person. And you don't need to be passive aggressive about it."

"I'm not being passive aggressive. You're just kinda rude and I'm pointing it out."

Hux frowned and tried not to get very worked up. He leaned against the seat and took a long keep breath. "I have good reason to be. I don't see the benefit in being kind to everyone."

"Uh, people will be kind back?" Kylo laughed. "And what the hell is your reason? 'Cause of whatever happened overseas?"

Hux nodded reluctantly but said nothing more. Kylo glanced at him a couple times but didn't press, which Hux was glad about because more nausea rose and he didn't think he could answer even if he wanted to. Kylo saw his face again and hurriedly pulled over, letting Hux vomit into the bushes. It was painful at that point. Hux keeled over, curling up within himself and trying to just breathe, but he couldn't. All the talk of whatever happened overseas, the snakebites and different antidotes and throwing up everything in his stomach was wearing him down. He wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep forever. And he certainly didn't want to be stuck in a car with a relative stranger, making him pull over every few miles so he could spew out whatever was left of him.

He fell back against the seat of the car, hands over his face and trying to just breathe. Kylo had been calling his name, but he only noticed just then. "What?" He answered, not lifting his hands from his face.

"What is actually going on here?" Kylo's eyes held concern when Hux peeked through his fingers to see. "I can't protect you if I don't know what's wrong in the first place. So tell me."

It's not like Kylo could help, but Hux heaved a breath and faced him. "There was someone who- under my lead- who-" He couldn't speak, so Kylo turned fully and clicked the hazards on the car. "She wasn't well, I don't know how they let her in- she must've pretended, I don't know. But we were- we were tracking the enemy, staying on their tail for days to find out where their base was." Hux paused, trying to get his bearings. "We were all snipers, but we had other things too, of course. A knife, a pistol. Stuff like that. We had set up for the night and the watchmen had settled down, and she went out to take a piss. I was one of the watchmen."

Kylo looked like he knew where he was going, but didn't open his mouth to input. Hux appreciated that.

"She'd come up behind me with a knife and slit the throat of the man beside me, then turned to get me, too. I was better trained than all of them, though, because I saw her coming. I raised my gun to shoot her when one of the tents - her tent - blew up. She'd left a bomb in there. That alerted the rest of the men and the enemy we'd been tracking for days. Soon everyone was turned against each other."

"Christ." Kylo breathed. "How'd you make it out?"

Hux shook his head. "I don't know. I was in the thick of it, and the explosion had flung me aside, and I lost my gun since it flew out of my hand. I- I stabbed the woman and went for my gun." He shook his head again and stopped his hands from shaking by pushing them together. This was the first time he'd spoken of it since they brought him and the other survivors in for questioning. "I climbed to higher ground so I could take out the enemy, all but one. I... convinced him to tell us where his base was."

"Convinced?" Kylo raised his eyebrows. Hux didn't think he needed to reword. Kylo was in a gang, anyhow. He'd heard of the stuff they did. "Okay. Sure. That's a fair reason."

"Reason?" Hux has forgotten what they were talking about before. "For what?"

"For being a mistrustful asshole." Kylo said, confident. He turned off the hazards and started down the highway again without another word. Hux felt much better. Much better.

"What happened after?" Kylo asked, more comfortable now. Hux was too, so he answered.

"I'd saved the lives of more than half my squadron. When we got back, they immediately took us into questioning. We were in mutual agreement - I'd spoken to them before the questioning - that we got the location of the base and were heading back when the woman went crazy. I hadn't convinced the enemy at all, and it was never mentioned. I got a Medal of Honor and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel."

Kylo glanced his direction once and nodded. "That's it?" He seemed surprised. "You got a Medal of Honor and a big promotion and suddenly decide to go home?" He scoffed. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Hux was somehow only them aware of how personal he'd gotten. What was he doing? He didn't want to tell Kylo everything. He was the one he was supposed to be investigating, not having deep conversations with. He shut his mouth and leaned back in the seat, curling his shoulders over to avoid attention to the man next to him. Kylo looked at him expectantly.

"What?" He asked, confused. "What just happened? Speak up."

Hux looked down. "No. That's enough."

"What? How the fuck is that enough?" Kylo pushed, now even more curious.

"I said that's enough." Hux hissed, malice dripping from his words. Kylo shifted uncomfortably in his seat and didn't say a word. He turned on the radio to distract himself and ignored Hux completely. Hux was fine with that. He didn't need to talk. He could sit there in silence and entertain himself with his own thoughts.

Except he couldn't. He'd never been one to sit and think, and besides, he didn't want to think. He was a man of doing. He didn't even like to sit. But he didn't know how to talk to Kylo, and he had no phone to distract from the interminable hate that constantly swirled within him. It burned now that he could feel it, and the after effects of the poison, too. It was dizzying and emptying and terrified him as to what could happen. And he needed to work on the case. He needed to speak to Phasma about what he knew- she would know where to go from there, he assumed. He was a bit stuck, himself.

The leader of the Knights didn't know who'd killed this Ajaccio, and his death remained mysterious. They were out of leads. Then Hux had an idea. He had a major resource sitting right next to him.

"Hey." He shut off the radio and turned back to Kylo, who scowled at the lack of music. "I told you some stuff about myself, now you tell me something. Was Ajaccio acting strange at all before his death?"

Kylo sent a seriously? look, but shrugged. "Not really. The usual Ajaccio - quiet, collected. Neat. Like you, but less of an asshole. But he was never suspicious."

Hux ignored the "asshole" comment. He was thinking about the "neat" comment instead. His nails had been chipped when they found his body; there had been struggle. "What about enemies? I know a lot of people hate your gang, but anyone dislike him in particular? Ex-girlfriends?"

"Practically all of them." Kylo huffed. "He wasn't good at romance. Every breakup was a bad breakup."

"Was there a worst one?"

Kylo had to think about that. "Hm. I guess. A couple months ago he dated this weird chick named Vanessa. She was super possessive. When the Knights were a distraction from her, as they should be, she got pissed. Said she'd fuck him up and get revenge some day. Oh shit." Kylo realized what Hux was doing. "You're trying to figure out who killed him. You really think it was Vanessa?"

"Did she have violent tendencies?" Hux asked, full interrogation mode turned on. "A history of getting in fights? Killing animals?"

"She was a butcher." Kylo breathed. "She worked in this place down the road, The Pig's Delight."

Hux had an idea of who's blood was on the wall. "Forget about lunch. Let's go to that butcher shop."


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little more investigation.

The car swerved to make the right exit and they went speeding down towards where Hux assumes The Pig's Delight laid. Kylo seemed very fired up about it all, ready to take down whoever killed Ajaccio. Hux was just excited to solve another case. He found this part the most exhilarating; tracking down the criminal.

The Pig's Delight was a sketchy little butcher shop in the middle of town that could be cute if not for the pig carcasses hanging in the window. When they approached and parked in front, the sign over the door was covered in blood, and the DE in "Delight" was made a P - The Pig's Plight. Hux looked at Kylo once, finding his eyes soaked in fury, and the two of them got out. Kylo ran ahead to peek in through the widows and glass door while Hux came up beside him, moving slower due to the pain in his gut.

"It's closed." Kylo said, disappointed. He looked to Hux for him to do something about it.

"If you want me to pick the lock we'll both get arrested. I don't have a search warrant." Hux shrugged. Kylo stared. "I can't pick it. However, if I were to see a sketchy individual trying to pick it... I'd have to pursue him." And Hux slipped his Swiss Army Knife from his pocket and handed it to Kylo, who took out the toothpick and jammed it into the knob. Instantly the door popped open. "God. How many of those have you picked?" Hux took his knife back.

"A few."

Hux rolled his eyes and went in after Kylo, the knife in his hand and ready to stab. It was pointless. No one was there. "Are you sure it was here that she worked?" Hux was starting to have second thoughts. Kylo nodded in conformance and a second later froze in his step. "What?"

Kylo was pointing straight ahead. In the doorway of the meat storage, which should be closed to keep it cold, was a body. Hux swore under his breath and ran as best he could to kneel down beside her. She was dead.

"That's Vanessa." Kylo breathed. "This doesn't make any sense. That's her."

"Who owns this shop?" Hux got back up on his feet and looked around for clues. Kylo was right. This didn't make any sense.

"Her father. But he lives two hours away, so she runs it." Kylo crouched beside her then, inspecting her. There was a pool of blood around her head.

Hux found what he was looking for inside the storage room. Writing on the walls, written in blood. "Look." He grabbed Kylo and pulled him forward so they could both see. The message this time was worrying and added yet more confusion to the mix.

"ThiS PiGgy diDN't SquEaL

SoRry, Ben."

Kylo was pale. Hux saw the look on his face and knew he knew something. "Any idea who Ben is?"

The name set him off again. He turned and left the storage room, shifting nervously and pressing his hands together. "Fuck." He murmured, barely audible. Hux left the room to go after him. "The killer knows me." He spun around to face Hux, terror in his eyes. "They're targeting me."

"So you know Ben, then?" Hux asked, pocketing the knife. "We have to call Phasma anyway, she'll know what to do now... the science stuff."

"You know Phasma?" Kylo perked up, looking like he wanted to change the subject from whoever Ben was.

"She's who has been working with me on this case." Hux tipped his head. "How do you know her?"

"She's an ally to the Knights." Kylo huffed a laugh, somehow, and pulled out his phone, already searching through it. "Let's call her then. I didn't know she was working on this case."

The phone rung barely three times before it was picked up. Hux heard her on the other end, angrily. "Kylo, I swear to God if you did anything to-"

"Don't worry, he's here." Kylo rolled his eyes. "But you should have kept him on a stronger leash. He wandered into Pella's house and got bitten by her snakes." Phasma swore on the other end. "He's alright, just kind of shaking off the aftereffects."

"Fuck you, Kylo. Where are you?"

Kylo told her the address. "How long will it take you to get here? We found... evidence."

Phasma seemed to know what that meant. "I'll be there in ten. Keep it clean for me." And the call ended with a loud beep. Kylo sighed and pocketed his phone.

"I guess we have ten minutes to kill." He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "What you wanna do?"

Truthfully, Hux wanted to sit and catch his breath. He felt faint. "You can tell me who Ben is."

Kylo's face darkened. "No. I'll tell you most anything, but not that."

"Fine." Hux cleared his throat and then swallowed, keeping the last bits of bile down. "Then tell me about your gang. Has there been any suspicious attitude? Who's known you long enough to target you?"

That got Kylo's mind off Ben. "Not many. There are only four of us now, not including myself and Ajaccio. Two members - Pannonia and Natal, knew me from before I became a Knight. You don't think they could have anything to do with it, do you?"

"It's always worth- looking into." Hux puffed. The room was spinning. His vision was fading in and out of focus. "Do they know Ben?"

"They did." Kylo narrowed his eyes, or at least it seemed like it, and leaned away from the counter. "You feeling alright? You don't look so good."

Hux nodded. "Fine." But it was so dizzying, so he pressed his eyes shut and opened them again. Still spinning. "Where do you guys get your names, anyway?" He tried to avert the conversation.

"You don't recognize any of them?" Kylo tipped his head. Or maybe not. "It's all the birthplace of great leaders. Pannonia, birthplace of Attila the Hun, Natal, birthplace of Shaka Zulu. Napoleon was born in Ajaccio. Hux, are you sure you're alright? I think I lost you for a second." Kylo snapped his fingers in front of Hux's face, but everything was fluctuating out of balance. He heard what Kylo said, but he was going to fall over if he didn't sit. Unfortunately, there wasn't anywhere to sit. His legs crumbled under him and he fell to the floor.

"Hux!" Kylo was next to him. Hux squeezed his eyes shut to avoid seeing everything spin, but the feeling still stayed. He grabbed for something to anchor him, something to hold onto, and that happened to be Kylo's sleeve. Kylo crouched down beside him and held his face, calling his name.

The door swung open behind him. Phasma had arrived. "What the fuck happened? What's going on here?" She shifted onto Hux's other side, shaking him. "Hey. Hux. Can you hear us?"

He nodded. "Yes. I can't- everything's spinning."

Phasma wasn't happy with that answer. "I though you treated him, Kylo. You said you gave him the antivenom."

"I did! I don't know what's going on!"

Phasma took his pulse and Hux opened his eyes. He couldn't make out Phasma's features. "I can't feel my hands." He muttered, the world slipping away from him. "I'm going to- go. I can't-"

And then the room flew away and his eyes rolled back in his head.

————

He woke strapped down in the backseat of a car with a pounding headache. There was talking up front, loud, uncontrolled talking, and the sounds of a moving car. Hux didn't try to sit up yet; his wrist killed and he didn't know if the dizziness would return. Slowly, the voices faded into comprehension.

"...Cannot believe you would do something so irresponsible!" Was Phasma. "Did you listen to Ionia at all? People with a snake bite, much less two, shouldn't move at all!"

"I'm sorry I didn't go to school for medicine!" Kylo replied. "It's not a priority. That's why we have Ionia. He's fine. He'll be fine."

"Did you see him?" Phasma groaned. The car took a wide right turn. "He collapsed and passed out. Explain to me how that's fine."

"Sometime people just pass out, I don't-"

"I didn't mean literally, doofus!"

The car came to a hard stop and Hux flew forward in the seat. The seatbelt kept him from going flying, but he couldn't stop the low groan of pain that escaped him. Phasma glanced back at him worriedly and started driving again. Kylo only looked at him quickly and avoided his eyes.

"You woke him up with your reckless driving." Kylo grumbled, sounding more like a whiny pre-teen than ever.

"If you don't-!" Phasma raised her hand to hit Kylo, but lowered it at the last second. "I swear to every god above, if you don't stop acting like a child I'm going to knock you unconscious!" Phasma glanced back at Hux again as he groaned and went faster. "Fuck. Why didn't you bring him to a hospital first?"

"He'd snuck into a gang members house! I wasn't about to get him and myself arrested."

"It's called lying, you idiot! Say you were hiking and he got bitten!" Phasma took another long turn and slammed on the breaks. "Fuck these drivers. Can anyone go any slower?"

Hux rolled around in the backseat and tried sitting up. "Where...?" He asked, but they swerved past another car and he tumbling back down. "What's going- on?" He moaned, in too much pain to sit up again. He saw the sign for a hospital pass by the window.

"We're here. Get 'im." Phasma stopped the car and Hux went flying forwards again. Her door opened and shut, same as Kylo's, and suddenly Hux was being lifted and held in Phasma's arms. Kylo ran ahead of them. Hux drifted off again.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashbacks and worries. The case progresses a bit. 
> 
> Sorry for the long wait. 
> 
> (And sorry for the really serious chapter summaries. I’ve been fueling a lot of my own angst into this fic and I kind of don’t know what to do with myself, haha. Enjoy)

Hux's dreams were invaded with thoughts he never wished to think of. Most of it swept by his head to quickly to grasp, childhood memories and little tidbits of thoughts, but the heavier ones weighed on him and lasted seconds longer.

The first memory that stuck around was the first time his father had hit him. He was seven. He'd refused to shoot the deer while on a hunting trip, and his father took the gun, shot the doe, and slapped him across the face. Hux hadn't cried. He didn't know what to think. So he let the churning emotion sizzle inside him and never picked at it again.

The second was when he'd joined the army. He wasn't sent overseas immediately and instead trained at the academy nearby, under his father. It was hell. He saw all the early mornings and hours of training excursions. The one thing he saw as tolerable was the sniper practice. He excelled at it. Not as if his father was proud of him, he was never proud, but it got him to the top of his class. Eventually he was told he was supposed to go to Iraq, given a month to prepare. It was at that time Hux Senior took the Knights of Ren case.

Hux could barely remember how it all started. He just got home one day with his father on the phone with three different people and filling out reports at the same time. There was a mass shooting. Twelve dead. He remembered how often his father smacked him around during that time. By the time it was almost over, the department had tracked down the last of the Knights to a massive abandoned industrial factory. They planned the raid and carried it out that terrible, cloudy night. Hux was sitting at home, packing his bags. He was glad for the Iraq placement - he didn't want to stay in that town any longer. But then he switched the news on, as habit, and saw his father's picture on the screen.

"...Brendol Hux, 57, shot dead at the scene. He was the leading investigator for the case, and insisted on entering the factory first, to possibly negotiate. Unfortunately, the malicious Knights of Ren were not up to debate. They killed him and seven others, escaping narrowly with the last three of their order."

Hux stopped what he was doing instantly. He called Lainey over and over again until she answered, but even when she did it was hard to understand what she was saying. She was distraught. Utterly terrified. Hux didn't stay for the funeral. He left for Iraq the next morning and vowed never to come back.

More memories flew past him, dripping down quick information and splashing old random thoughts into his mind. He ignored it all and focused, unintentionally, on the interrogation in Iraq.

He stood in an empty tent, one knife in hand and blood still wet on his clothes. The man strapped onto the chair was looking down, his shirt ripped and torn in some places and blood dripping from his arm. Hux looked at the knife, finding it dripping with blood, and pressed the edge into the prisoner's stomach.

"I asked you a question." His voice was low and furious. "It'd serve you well to answer."

Blood sparked under his shirt. "I told you. I don't know."

Hux didn't believe him. His smashed the knife hilt down onto the prisoner's hand, snapping all the little bones within. "I said," Hux shouted over the man's grunts of pain. "Where-" He dug the knife into a finger and cut it off. "Is-" A second finger. "Your-" Third. "Base?" Fourth.

The prisoner was screaming in agony, his face twisted into a pained scowl. He spat in Hux's face. "Fuck you."

The memory flickered. Suddenly Hux was outside, dragging the prisoner by the collar. The subject was bleeding heavily from his side, pooling in the sand. The survivors from the attack stood around cleaning their guns, but stopped to stare when Hux arrived.

"This is how this is going to go," Hux said, dropping the prisoner in the bloody sand. "I am going after those who fled our attack and find their base while you hang back and clean up this mess." He kicked the prisoner to his feet and walked past the men. "I'll be back in not a day's time. If I don't return, come after me."

The memory flickered and flashed. Hux felt his body shifting in a bed, through stiff cotton and overgrown hair. Then he was back in the dreams, desert wind skimming through and around his headscarf, sand blowing into his eyes. The prisoner from before stumbled ahead of him, still trying to call the number on his phone.

"Anything?" Hux spat into the sand, getting rid of the salty taste. He was so thirsty.

"I told you, it might take a few tries." The man's accent may have been Russian or Turkish. Hux wasn't sure. "Oh. Got it." He stopped and Hux hovered behind him. The prisoner put the phone to his ear. "It's me. Last survivor. Some fled."

There was a pause on the other line. In English, surprisingly, was a voice. "You are coming back to the base?"

"Yes, sir." The prisoner said quickly, Hux's stomach lurching. He'd know the location soon enough. "Should I return as well?"

"Yes. Return."

"Sir." The prisoner ended the call and let his arm drop. Hux leaned over eagerly. "I'll show you the way." He didn't look up and started off again.

Hux felt the dry air, the heavy heat and sticky tongue. His lips dried and broke with his frustrated teeth on the skin. The walk was long. They reached an oasis once. They drank all they could, refilled their canisters, and headed off again. The prisoner said little to nothing. An eagle flew overhead. Hux ate a can of beans from his pack as they walked, never stopping. It was many hours before a building came into view. Terra cotta stone, windows of warped glass and a man standing watch outside. But it was large. Two stories and rickety, though sturdy in the sand. The prisoner glanced back and walked faster up to the closed wooden door. He called something in a foreign language and the door swung open.

The prisoner's body trashed with the bullet shots. One skimmed Hux's arm but otherwise left him unharmed. There were three. They grabbed Hux, threw him inside and tore away his pack. He reached for his gun but one of them stomped his hand on the worn wooden floor.

"Fuck!" Hux swore and grabbed his knife instead, raising that. The three men pointed guns at his head. He growled once and dropped the knife.

A voice from the depths of his mind rose. "Don't do this, Armitage." It was his father. "Rise for your country, for your legacy. Fight or die."

He struggled in the stiff cottony bed. Voices and hands kept him down. He was back in the house in Iraq, strapped down to a table.

A knife dug deep into his chest. Someone had gagged him with an old rag. "Will you tell us then? Where you came from?" And Hux tried scowling, stretching his jaw to show he couldn't speak, but the torturer didn't take away the gag. He only smiled and turned, spinning back around with the blade heated and pressed it into the cut he'd made. Hux tried screaming, the pain unbearable and ripping deep into his bones, but a hand clenched at his throat and he couldn't breathe. The torturer held that for a minute before releasing him. Hux gagged and choked and shut his eyes, not praying for an end but just biding time.

"You really are unbreakable, aren't you?" The torturer smiled wide and looked Hux's body over. "We'll see."

The knife dropped lower and Hux realized what he meant. He yelled through the gag and thrashed, yanking his wrists and ankles against the ropes that kept him down. The skin there was rubbed raw and bloody, but it didn't stop him. The knife hovered at his naval and stayed there.

"You know," The torturer looked back up to Hux's face with a pondering expression. "I can't quite cut with clothes between you and my blade." And he poked the knife through his pants and wrenched it down, slitting open he pant leg and catching skin with it. Hux groaned and tipped his head back. He did the same with the other leg until he could tug away the pants entirely. Hux tried closing his legs and looked away from the man standing over him.

"Shall we continue?" The torturer smiled disgustingly and raised the knife again. Hux grunted over the gag and, now panicked, sent a pleading look. "Ah, so he is human. But I think I want to see just how much."

The knife tore into his hip, grazing a bone. Hux screamed and screamed but the trashing wasn't doing anything anymore. It only dug the blade in further. Once or twice it released from his flesh so it could press back in, and each time it sent Hux into a pit of agony and terror. His father's words played over and over in his ears, inescapable as the knife in his hip and the snakebites in his arm and ankle. The uncomfortable bed was back, scratching at his skin, and then the table was too, ropes at his wrists. The change in memory made him queasy. He tried grabbing for something recognizable and got some sort of fleshy substance. A hand. He squeezed it hard and pulled at it, trying to pull himself back from the torture house.

————

And then he was back. He was there in a hospital room, crushing Phasma's hand and groaning. It was real. He took his hand back as quickly as he could and held it to his chest, rubbing his sore wrist. The ropes still felt so real.

"God, you have a strong grip." Phasma shook her hand out and stepped away. She stood beside him, scowling worriedly at the form in the bed. Hux felt so small compared to her.

"Where's-" His voice came out a croak. "-Kylo?"

Phasma raised an eyebrow. "You just woke up from death and that's what you ask me? Where's Kylo?"

He gave a small, sarcastic smile. "I've died before. Where is he?"

Phasma pursed her lips and paused, but ultimately decided to forget what she would have said. "He went out to continue the investigation. He seemed really pissed."

"Continued...?" Hux wheezed. His lungs felt drained. "I need to be- out there with him, he'll- fuck it up-" And a cough sent him spiraling back down into sickness, his eyes clouding for a second and everything blurring. Then it was back to normal. "What's going- on?" He looked up to Phasma.

"You don't remember?" She seemed a bit concerned, but it barely showed on her stony features. "You passed out. Apparently the antivenin hadn't worked well." She sat on the chair beside his bed. "We thought you died. What were you dreaming about, just now...?"

Hux didn't feel like saying. He laid back in the bed and tried not to pay attention to the constant burning through the scars on his abdomen. It burned almost as terribly as it did in the dream, so he clenched his teeth and fisted his hand into the sheets. He looked away from Phasma while she leaned over for an answer. But she wouldn't be getting one.

"Kylo was asking about what happened to you," Phasma was saying. It was a good distraction, at least. "Overseas."

That got Hux's attention, at least somewhat. "What'd you tell him?"

She shrugged. "What could I tell him? I don't know much. Why? Would you want me to?" She smirked and considered him. He was hard to read. Hux shook his head.

"No. How much do you know?"

"Is there something to know?" Phasma smiled suspiciously and Hux looked away. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I don't need to tell you anything." He avoided her eyes with everything he could. She was just so intense. He knew that if he met her gaze he wouldn't be able to look away, and he'd end up telling her something he didn't want to.

"Look at me." She insisted anyway. He didn't. "I said look at me, bitch." She leaned over to grab him, but Hux turned to her angrily.

"You can't call me-!" He wheezed, but he was there, trapped in her silvery blue irises. "What do you want? Leave me be."

"No." She shook her head. "Tell me what happened. Now I know you're keeping something from me, and I need to know." She leaned in when he said nothing. "Is it something awful? How bad is it?"

Hux shook his head again and looked away. "I'm not telling you, Phasma. You can ask as much as you want, but I'm not telling you."

Phasma huffed and sat back. "Then I'll just have to find out without you."

Just at that moment, conveniently, Lainey came running in. She was dressed in a big chunky sweater and jeans, the top stained and a handkerchief hanging out of her pocket. Her face was flushed and her eyes were wide. Hux braced himself.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" She began, throwing herself at him and bringing him close into a hug. He grunted and slipped away. "Are you insane? How did this even happen? Snakebites? What, did you follow the Knights into the woods in Nevada? How do you manage to scare me worse now than you did in Iraq? Well, not really, but Armitage - you're an idiot." She spat her words with frustration and anger and worry. Hux thought of all the missed calls from her every few days, her heavy voice gripping him through the line.

"I'm sorry." He didn't meet her eyes either. She knew him too well. "It was just an accident."

Lainey gave up on him quickly, seeing his hand clenching the sheets and the scowl on his face. "You- Phasma, was it? Come talk to me." She nodded to the door and Phasma got up quickly to follow her out. Hux sat there and watched them through the doorway, unable to make out much but the intense back and forth between them. It lasted minutes. Hux shut his eyes and tried evening his breath, mentally going over all the evidence he had thus far.

The suspects had been only Vanessa, but then they'd found her dead. Those two that knew Kylo were left to interrogate - Pannonia and Natal. They knew Ben and Kylo before he'd been Kylo (what did that even mean?), so they could probably tell Hux who has business targeting Kylo. Maybe they could get this Ben to safety, too. He was probably in danger.

Hux needed to talk to Kylo. He needed to know where to find Pannonia and Natal, and if they were potentially dangerous - he hadn't thought ahead for Pella, and now he was stuck in a hospital bed. He may be able to call Kylo and get something done while sitting in that bed...

A phone rung beside him. It wasn't his phone. Probably Phasma's. Hux picked it up anyway, seeing Kylo's contact, and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Phas, I have a serious dilemma here." His voice came through almost shaky but furious.

"It's Hux." He greeted. "What'd you find?"

"Oh, fuck. Hux. You're awake." His tone dropped. "Are you feeling better? Less dizzy?"

Hux rolled his eyes. "Sure. What'd you find?"

Kylo paused. "I left to confront Pella, maybe toss her around a bit, but..." He trailed off. "She's- fuck. She's dead. And now I know who the killer is."

"What?" Hux breathed. "Who?"

"The Resistance." Kylo hissed. His voice had never sounded so malicious. "Those bastards. They've been picking us off one by one."

Hux took it in. Someone could be framing the Resistance, the opposing gang to the Knights of Ren, to cause a war. Or it could really be the Resistance, and in which case they were probably fucked. "How can you tell it's the Resistance?"

"Their symbol is painted on the wall with blood." He shot back. "I'm going to catch them. I'll kill each one of them as they did my Knights, tear them apart limb by limb..."

Hux shivered. "Kylo, you cannot rush into this. Something isn't right. Does it say anything about Ben this time? What does the message say?"

"It's says 'Cut off the head of the snake, the whole thing dies. Sorry, Pel. And hello Ben. Mum says hi.'"

Hux shivered. "This Ben guy is really in trouble. You said you know who it is? Is there any way to get him to safety? And his mother too, perhaps?" He offered, but Kylo scoffed. "What? Is Ben an enemy?"

"No. Ask when you're to be discharged, I need you over here."

Hux didn't know. "I'll let you know. Send pictures of the scene and do not report this." And he took the phone away from his ear and hung up. It was almost impossible to get anything out of Kylo at all. He didn't answer any questions and when he did it made no sense. Who was Ben? And what did he have to do with all these murders and the Knights?

"Armitage." Lainey waltzed back into the room alone. Phasma has disappeared. "They said you can leave this afternoon. Shall I bring you something to keep you busy?"

Hux thought about this. "If you can, my laptop and a burner phone." He sent a weary smile for good measure. "Please, Lainey."

"Since you ask so nicely." She sent a smile back and left, shutting the door on her way out. Hux leaned back in the bed and shut his eyes. There was so much to think about, but for now... For now, he could wait. And he could sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be up within the next few days. Only a couple left, I think


End file.
